Hunters frequently have a need for a means to hang an animal killed in the hunt and to skin it. For example, a group of deer hunters may wish to use one of the deer for food at the hunting camp, and it is, of course, necessary to skin the carcass before cooking a portion of the meat. Other animals killed in the hunt may be of value only for their fur or hides, and accordingly, it is preferred to skin the carcasses at the camp site and not bring the entire carcass home.
In the past, the hunter has thrown a rope over a tree limb, fastened a spreader to the end of the rope and hung the animal carcass from the spreader. It is, of course, not always possible to find the right tree for this purpose near the camp, and so there has been a need for a portable deer pole which can be readily assembled and attached to a pickup truck which is always near the hunter. The truck can, of course, be used to haul the carcass to whatever place is selected for the skinning operation.
Two prior art patents are known that describe skinning trees that are attachable to a pickup truck. U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,168 to Bradley, shows a telescoping boom with a curved head from which a block and tackle may be suspended to hold a carcass on a spreader. The boom is attachable to a base plate that can be attached to a truck or to the trunk of a tree. U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,703 discloses a vertical mast with a horizontal boom at its upper end which can swivel in any direction. A winch and pulleys on the mast and boom direct a cable to raise or lower the carcass. The mast may be attached to selected portions of a truck.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved portable deer pole that is attachable to the rear bumper of a pickup truck. It is another object of this invention to provide an improved portable skinning device that is readily disassemblable into parts that are convenient to store and carry in a truck bed. Still other objects will become apparent from the more detailed description which follows.